History

You're right, Amy. I will add the footnote I always add when commenting on the film: Gene Kranz was an authentic hero on Apollo 13 and his role is accurately portrayed. What the film didn't cover was that Gene's White Team left Mission Control an hour after the accident, and… https://t.co/8YZM0IHwDr

— Charles Murray (@charlesmurray) January 21, 2026

 

An Insight

Now and then I have to conduct family business in my ancestral homeland in very rural southern Mississippi where my family has been for 216 years. In the course of such things, I have to interact with the county courthouse, tax assessor, etc in county seats in cities with…

— cdrsalamander (@cdrsalamander) January 20, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

Olavinlinna, St. Olaf's Castle, Finland, is the northernmost medieval stone castle in Europe. Finished in 1499 by a Danish-Swedish noble to secure the border areas against Russia. Modernized in the 18th century. Never captured in battle. pic.twitter.com/5NLdIlmLsx

— Wrath Of Gnon (@wrathofgnon) January 22, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

People think I do all the cooking for myself and my husband because I have some trad belief that men don’t belong in the kitchen. The truth is that I am Italian and my husband is English, and I do not believe any English person of any gender belongs in my kitchen.

— Icona (@iconawrites) January 20, 2026

 

Data Talks

There is still widespread denial about this among Democrats, a lot of talk about how Trump's base is wealthy contractors, car dealers etc.

Yes, many of Trump's most ardent supporters are of that type. But where he *expanded* the GOP base, where Democrats lost support, was lower… https://t.co/gUse66P2de

— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) January 20, 2026

 

The Empire of Light, 1954 by René Magritte (Belgium, 1898-1967)

Click to enlarge.

Of the Sixth and Seventh Century by C.P. Cavafy

Of the Sixth and Seventh Century

by C.P. Cavafy

It's very interesting and moving,

the Alexandria of the sixth century, or early in the seventh

before the coming of the mighty Arab nation.

She still speaks Greek, officially;

perhaps without much verve, yet, as is only fitting,

she speaks our language still.

Throughout the Greek world it's destined to fade away;

but here it's still holding up as best it can.

It's not unnatural if we have looked upon

this particular era so feelingly,

we who now have once more borne

the sound of Greek speech back to her soil.

History

The Lycian tombs at Sidyma are among the most atmospheric funerary landscapes in ancient Lycia, in southwestern Anatolia near modern Dodurga, not far from Fethiye.

Sidyma’s tombs are scattered across steep, terraced hillsides, olive groves, and rocky outcrops rather than… pic.twitter.com/kQKi7lsGkl

— Following Hadrian (@carolemadge) January 21, 2026

 

An Insight

I’ll publish a longer article on this tomorrow, but here is the simplest way to explain what makes Islam fundamentally different from every other major religion, and why it is uniquely destabilizing.

Judaism, Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic religions, which…

— Dan Burmawi (@DanBurmawy) January 20, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

"It's just a wood in England, it can't be that cool" 😱😍 pic.twitter.com/zBrr1jasya

— Gollumgram (@Gollumgram) January 22, 2026